My father, Lord Alaric, fixed his piercing gaze on Krista. "Tell me about this alliance then."
Krista took a calming breath, her composure remarkable given the circumstances. "As Father Sinclair explained," she began, her voice clear and resolute, "the Church intends to start an all-out war by releasing all of their low-level vampires into the capital. Our plan is to prevent that from happening without causing unnecessary bloodshed." Her eyes swept across the formidable faces of the Council members. "We can't just go in and burn the lab down like we did before. Not only is it far more dangerous now, but innocent people working for the Church would be caught in the crossfire. My proposal is to wait for the Church to release them, and then ambush them as they try to leave the property. This way, we minimize casualties among the non-combatants."
A murmur rippled through the Council. The brawny vampire who had spoken earlier grumbled, "That's too risky! We'd be letting them out into the city, even for a moment."
"No," Krista countered, her voice firm. "We surround the estate. Every exit, every possible route. They won't get out into the city. Our goal is to get rid of the low-level vampires, not to cause chaos among the human populace. If we blow the place up, everyone inside will die, including the normal people there. But if we wait for the vampires to come out, we can get rid of them without worrying about casualties."
"What do you all think? Do you agree?" my father asked the council members, his voice resonating with authority.
"I guess there's no other choice," one of the Council members, a vampire with a stoic expression, replied. "The peace in the capital is important, and everyone's safety is top priority."
"We'd still be outnumbered though. The Elites won't be able to handle all those low-level vampires. Even with the help from Father Sinclair's underground group, it'd be difficult," another voiced their concern.
"Then, we'd have to call for an emergency vampire conference," my father declared, his decision made. "We'll gather as many vampires as we can. Not only the elites, but even the students who would volunteer to fight will be allowed."
"No way. That's preposterous. We can't let the children fight," the brawny vampire protested, his voice booming again.
"Krista was still a student when she went against the Church, and she's not even a vampire. What's good of having speed and strength when all they do at school is look at books?" Seraphina, Jeremy's sister, countered, a sharp edge to her voice.
"But still—" the brawny vampire started again, but the discussion was cut off.
Amidst the strategic discussions, my father, Lord Alaric, held up a hand, his gaze sharp as he suddenly cut off the vampires' conversation. "There's one other thing I need to ask you." His eyes landed squarely on Kilian, who stood quietly beside Krista. "This young man beside you…"
"Yes, Father," I answered immediately, my voice firm, my hand resting protectively on Kilian's shoulder. The moment had come. "This is Kilian, our son."